


don't have to rush (just tell me before the sun sets)

by greyskieslatenights



Series: hope you have a good good morning [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Getting Together, Kinda, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-13
Updated: 2018-12-13
Packaged: 2019-09-17 11:17:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16973604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greyskieslatenights/pseuds/greyskieslatenights
Summary: Seungcheol has some feelings (well, one in particular) he wants to share with Jihoon.





	don't have to rush (just tell me before the sun sets)

**Author's Note:**

> literally how the fuck did it take me an entire year to post part 2. i'm sorry. happy (belated) bday jihoon again??
> 
> a sequel/followup fic from seungcheol's pov. based on @[good morning](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoLpWz3IjdQ), an iconic jicheol performance, if you have't read the first part! hopefully you like it :,)

Choi Seungcheol isn’t someone who’s particularly prone to anxiety. He’s pretty confident when it comes to most things, and usually doesn’t freak out much during the rare occasions where he’s unsure of something.

For the most part, Jihoon is no exception to this rule. Jihoon seems like a closed book to most people, with his prickly exterior and his penchant for silence instead of conversation.

For someone like Seungcheol, though, who’s been with him for so long, he’s more like one of those children’s picture books in simple language and big letters. Seungcheol knows Jihoon almost as well as he knows himself – he knows what makes Jihoon happy, sad, angry, and everything in between. He knows how to tell when Jihoon’s had a rough day, or when Jihoon’s feeling just a bit happier than normal, and he knows exactly what to do in each situation.

He knows that even though Jihoon tends to be blunt and rarely says nice things, his actions speak so much louder than the halfhearted insults he sends the elder’s way.

(Even though it seems like Seungcheol’s the one who’s always looking out for Jihoon, he knows that Jihoon looks after him, too, in his own Jihoon kind of way.)

It’s this knowledge that keeps Seungcheol sane for most of the day after he’d sent Jihoon that _good morning_ text – knowing Jihoon, he’d probably felt embarrassed after Seungcheol’s confession, did something mildly stupid, and more-or-less forgot the events of the night prior. It’s only a matter of time before Jihoon texts him back.

The only thing Seungcheol’s mildly worried about when he sends the text is how long Jihoon will take to remember, or if he’ll even remember at all, although it’s not a major concern. He confessed once, and he can confess again.

It’s kind of silly, when he looks back on the whole situation. Making the decision to confess to Jihoon was probably one of the few things Jihoon-related that Seungcheol had had second thoughts about, but once he finally went through with it, all of his trepidation about the matter seemed to fly out the window.

This is, at least, what Seungcheol tells himself.

For the first four or so hours, Seungcheol isn’t concerned in the slightest. Jihoon has been a late riser since probably the beginning of time – even more so after a night of drinking. Seungcheol isn’t expecting a reply until around one in the afternoon, and even that is a conservative estimate.

1 PM comes and goes; Seungcheol busies himself with odds and ends he needs to do like laundry and buying groceries. The reminder that Jihoon hasn’t replied to his text yet is still at the back of his mind, but it’s not a constant.

When he finally gets back to his apartment, chores done, it’s past five. Seungcheol’s starting to get a little concerned, because Jihoon usually doesn’t take this long to reply, but he figures that at this point Jihoon’s awake and is nervous.

That’s fine. Jihoon can have all the time he needs.

That being said, Seungcheol will vehemently deny that he lunged for his phone at 5:53 PM the second he hears Jihoon’s text-tone.

 **_Lee Jihoon:_ ** _I guess it isn’t good morning anymore, but hi, hyung  
**Lee Jihoon:** sorry this is so late, I was thinking a lot_

Seungcheol laughs. Just as he’d thought.

 _ **Choi Seungcheol:** no worries jihoon-ah_  
_**Choi Seungcheol:** want to go out for dinner? hyung’s treat_  
_**Lee Jihoon:** ok_

 

 

They agree to meet at a Chinese restaurant about halfway between their apartments; Jihoon’s already there when Seungcheol arrives, wearing a familiar, three-sizes-too-large hoodie.

“You’re late, hyung,” Jihoon grumbles. _I was anxious to see you._

Seungcheol just laughs. “I’m sorry, Jihoonie.” _I’m here now, don’t worry._

They sit down at a table in the back, ordering their usual – two bowls of jajangmyeon and a side of tangsuyuk. After the ahjumma finishes taking their order, though, a strange sort of silence settles over the two of them.

Silence in and of itself is normal; they’ve never been the type who needed to fill the air with words just for something to do. This, however, feels different. They both know there’s a conversation that needs to be had, but neither of them quite know how to start it.

“So.” Jihoon looks down at the table, fidgeting with the sleeves of his (Seungcheol’s) jacket. “About last night.”

“Yeah?” Seungcheol replies, keeping his tone neutral. He knows that the way he responds to Jihoon at this point is crucial – he can’t push too hard, or Jihoon will shut himself away, but if he’s too laid back, Jihoon might think he doesn’t care.

“I… it took me a while to remember it all. But I think I did.”

Jihoon is briefly interrupted by the ahjumma setting the food on the table; they thank her, and the conversation halts while they mix the noodles with the sauce. Seungcheol notices that Jihoon, usually a voracious eater, hasn’t made a move to start eating.

“Jihoon?” Seungcheol asks tentatively.

“Huh?” Jihoon jolts, eyes snapping up to meet Seungcheol’s.

“Are you not hungry?” _Are you okay?_

Jihoon shakes his head. He opens his mouth, then closes it again; Seungcheol can tell that Jihoon’s fingers are tense, curled slightly while he bites his lip. He’s back to looking at the table. _I’m just nervous._

Seungcheol takes a piece of danmuji from the small dish in between them, the sour-sweet-bitterness of it spilling across his tongue as he chews. _There’s no rush._

“Did you mean it?” Jihoon asks, his voice small. _Do you remember it all, too?_

“Yes.” The resolution in Seungcheol's voice surprises even himself. Then again, he’s always been sure of his feelings when it came to Jihoon.

Jihoon lets out a soft sigh – out of relief or surprise, Seungcheol isn’t quite sure. It might be both.

“Hyung, I…” Jihoon trails off again, poking at his noodles with his chopsticks. “I thought about it a lot, after I remembered.”

Seungcheol nods, making a noncommittal humming noise in the back of his throat.

“It’s—it’s weird.” Jihoon says, stabbing at a piece of fried pork with more force than necessary. “Not that you _loving_ me is necessarily weird, but everything.”

He says the word ‘loving’ like he can’t really believe the word could ever be directed at him. Seungcheol, quite frankly, finds it a little baffling, but he knows how Jihoon works.

“It makes sense, but it doesn’t make sense. It’s confusing,” Jihoon grumbles, finally shoveling some of the jajangmyeon into his mouth.

Seungcheol notes that despite all of Jihoon’s griping, he has yet to get an actual denial. This is progress.

“Why?” Jihoon says, after he’s finished about half his bowl in the span of about a minute. _Why do you love me?_

“Do I need a reason?” Seungcheol asks, just to get a rise out of the younger. It works – Jihoon’s eyes narrow, his lips curling into a tiny scowl.

(Seungcheol finds it adorable. He’s probably broken in the head somehow.)

“It’s hard for me to explain it, myself,” Seungcheol finally says, and he knows that’s not the answer Jihoon’s looking for, but it’s the answer Jihoon’s going to get. “I’m pretty sure I’ve always loved you in some form or another.”

Jihoon is silent, returning to his food. His eyebrows are furrowed, creating a tiny dent in his forehead that Seungcheol kind of wants to smooth out with his thumb.

(Jihoon would probably beat him if he tried.)

So he waits, slurping on his own noodles while Jihoon thinks. He’s relatively confident in what he thinks Jihoon will do eventually, but the events in the interim are kind of a mystery. He’s always kind of liked that about Jihoon – while there’s a certain element of predictability to the younger, Seungcheol often manages to find himself surprised in small ways.

“What do you think about putting Hansol on the next track? The one I’ve been working on.” Jihoon finally breaks the silence.

Seungcheol takes the conversational cue for what it is. “I think his voice would go well on it, but you’d have to ask if the beat strikes something in him. You know how he is.”

Jihoon nods. “You’re right.”

 

 

 

After they finish their meal and pay, Jihoon turns to start walking in the direction of his apartment, then pauses after a few steps to turn back and look expectantly at Seungcheol. Seungcheol can read the silent plea in his eyes – he chuckles, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans and follows after the younger. Jihoon says nothing, but Seungcheol can see the corner of his lip twitch up in a satisfied smirk before settling back in a neutral expression.

The walk is silent, the air crisp and cool. Seungcheol can hear the faint sound of crickets chirping in the night, and the sound makes him feel wistful. For what, he doesn’t know.

All too soon, they arrive in front of Jihoon’s apartment, and Seungcheol’s about to start saying goodbye, when—

“Do you… want to come inside?”

Seungcheol’s startled – despite the longevity of his and Jihoon’s friendship, they’ve almost always ended their meetings at the door. They’ve spent time at each other’s places during the day, but unless they’d been spending the entire day in and lost track of time, they rarely stay over later at night.

That being said, Seungcheol’s never opposed to spending more time with Jihoon.

“Of course.”

Jihoon’s posture doesn’t change significantly, but Seungcheol can tell that he’s relaxed after Seungcheol’s acceptance of the invitation – his shoulders fall slightly, no longer tense.

Seungcheol follows Jihoon inside the building wordlessly, the route to Jihoon’s unit familiar enough. Jihoon punches in the passcode to his front door, looking between Seungcheol and the door briefly before giving up and deciding to enter first. The elder suppresses the urge to smile at Jihoon’s behavior, settling for taking off his shoes and taking a seat at one of the stools has by the kitchen counter.

_(“Why do you have two chairs in here, Jihoon? You never have people over.”_

_“…”_

_“Huh? Jihoon, you were mumbling, I couldn’t hear you.”_

_“It’s not important.”_

_Seungcheol could’ve sworn he heard Jihoon say “It’s for when you’re here.”)_

Jihoon sets a glass of water in front of the elder, then sits down on the other stool. He stares at his hands; only his fingertips peek out from the ends of the sleeves.

Seungcheol’s not going to lie – this silence is somewhat awkward. He can tell that Jihoon wants to say something, but isn’t quite sure how to get it out.

“Jihoon-ah, if you’re just gonna stare at your hands, then why am I here?” Seungcheol lets a teasing lilt slip into his voice, smiling softly at the younger. Jihoon’s head snaps up, his lips pursed in a tiny scowl.

“I don’t know,” Jihoon says. “I don’t know and I don’t like this.”

“Don’t know what?”

“ _Feelings_ , hyung. You seem to have this all figured out and I just… don’t.” Jihoon looks tired and exasperated and possibly a tiny bit disappointed in himself. Seungcheol understands – Jihoon’s always been a perfectionist, but processing emotions has never been one of his strong suits.

“I’ve had a lot longer to figure this out,” Seungcheol replies, taking a sip of his water. “I only just told you how I felt yesterday. You haven’t had much time to think about it.”

Jihoon shakes his head. “This shouldn’t be new to me. You’ve been around forever, hyung. I shouldn’t… feel like this.”

“Feel like what?”

“You sound like a therapist,” Jihoon scoffs. He’s not too far off base, in Seungcheol’s opinion – Jihoon does seem to need a bit of coaching through this whole thing – but he doesn’t want Jihoon to get annoyed.

Seungcheol shrugs. “I just want to help you figure it out, if I can.”

Jihoon lets out a soft sigh. “I don’t know, hyung."

Seungcheol reaches out and rests one of his hands over Jihoon’s softly, keeping only the faintest amount of pressure. Jihoon’s head shoots up like he’d just been electrocuted, though, eyes wide as he stares at the elder.

“Too much?” Seungcheol grins sheepishly.

“Um.” Jihoon makes no move to pull his hands away, which Seungcheol interprets to mean that he doesn’t object.

“I just _feel_ ,” Jihoon says. “I don’t know what it is.”

“Do you like the way you feel?”

“Yes and no. It’s uncomfortable.” Jihoon grimaces. “Like it’s tight in my stomach. I feel nervous.”

“It’s normal to feel nervous with something new,” Seungcheol hedges. He doesn’t want to pressure Jihoon into saying yes to anything if he really doesn’t want to, but he has a feeling that that’s not the case, here.

“It shouldn’t be new, though. Because it’s you. You’re not new,” Jihoon sighs. “You’ve been here forever. I shouldn’t feel this way around you.”

“You don’t like feeling nervous around me?” Seungcheol asks.

The glare he gets in response makes him laugh hard.

“Do you feel nervous?” Jihoon asks.

Seungcheol shrugs. “A little. Because I don’t know for sure what you want.”

Jihoon mulls this over. “Do you think I’ll stop being nervous?”

“Did you ever used to be nervous around me?”

“At first,” Jihoon says, “because I didn’t know what to expect from you. But it went away quickly.”

“Why did it go away?”

“I…” Jihoon starts to flush pink. “I felt… comfortable around you.”

There’s the opening Seungcheol needed. “I think,” Seungcheol starts, “that the nervousness could go away eventually. This is different for us, but it doesn’t have to be bad. We were comfortable with each other before, and we could be comfortable with each other in a different way.”

“Cheol, you are a _pervert_ ,” Jihoon grumbles, but there’s no bite to it.

“Hoonie,” Seungcheol whines.

“I hate you sometimes, Cheol. I hate how you always seem to know what I’m thinking before _I_ even know what I’m thinking.”

Seungcheol chuckles. “It’s just because I know you well.”

“Get out of my head! I need to have some secrets!”

“I will try my best, Jihoon-ah,” Seungcheol declares solemnly. This is a promise he absolutely does not intend to keep.

Jihoon side-eyes him, likely seeing through his bluff but choosing not to call him out on it. “Okay.”

“Okay… what?”

Jihoon sighs, exasperated. “Are you really going to make me say it, hyung?”

“Say what, Jihoon-ah?”

“You _bastard_ ,” Jihoon grumbles, kicking at the leg of Seungcheol’s chair. “We—we can—”

Seungcheol laughs, squeezing Jihoon’s hand a little in his. “Okay, Hoon. I won’t make you say it.”

Jihoon scoofs. “You weren’t going to make me say anything. I was going to offer to let you sleep over, but I guess I’m going to rescind that offer.”

Seungcheol pouts. “ _Hoon!_ ”

Jihoon closes his eyes, crosses his arms, and turns away. A moment later, he turns his head back just a little, eyes narrowed. “You can stay on one condition.”

“What’s your condition?”

“I want a hug.”

Seungcheol’s eyes widen, momentarily startled. This is probably the first time that Jihoon’s ever asked him for physical affection, but he’s certainly not going to turn it down.

He slides off his stool, stepping a little closer to Jihoon.

“You want it front or back?” Seungcheol asks. He can’t resist wiggling his eyebrows a little as he does, earning him a fist to the chest.

“Just get it over with!”

Seungcheol laughs, pulling Jihoon in so the younger’s face is buried in his chest. He swears he can feel Jihoon _nuzzle_ into his sweatshirt, but says nothing.

“Good?” Seungcheol asks, running a hand up and down the younger’s back.

He hears an affirmative grunt from beneath Jihoon’s fluffy hair and pulls back slightly. Jihoon straightens up, a contemplative expression crossing his features.

“Slowly. We can start with this.”

Seungcheol grins. “We can take this at whatever pace you want, Jihoon.”

Jihoon nods firmly, his features softening. “Cheol.”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

Seungcheol reaches over to tangle his fingers with Jihoon’s. “Any time.”

**Author's Note:**

> look idk what this turned into it's just GROSS FLUFF
> 
> feel free to yell at me in the comments or on twitter @[loverikonic](http://twitter.com/loverikonic)!! i don't bite :,)


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